Mediaboss Marketing

The Lancet is a renowned medical journal headquartered in England. The current issue includes an article on Venezuela, titled Data reveal state of Venezuelan health system. The data in question come from the Venezuelan government, after two years in which it released no reports. No doubt the picture the government paints is, if anything, optimistic. Still, the facts are grim:

Maternal and infant mortality have skyrocketed in Venezuela in the past 2 years, and diphtheria and malaria, diseases that were once controlled, are on the rise according to data released by the countrys Ministry of Health. The epidemiological data show that maternal mortality rose by about 9% between 2014 and 2015, then jumped by nearly 66% by the end of 2016-with 756 deaths. Infant mortality rose by about 30% between 2015 and 2016-11,466 deaths in 2016-according to government figures.

The country is on its eighth health minister since 2013. I dont think personnel is the issue.

Its very sad. We dont even have an aspirin tablet in stock, said Ivn Machado, chief of cardiology at University Hospital of Caracas. The Venezuelan Institute of Palliative care published a letter on May 11 that reported the country had run out of all classes of analgesics, and doctors are incapable of alleviating pain for patients. Doctors took to the streets on May 17 to protest the shortages.

The situation in hospitals is bleak:

Doctors describe hospitals without functioning equipment, basic medicines, or even running water, and laboratories without reagents. *** The University Hospitals cardiology unit, which usually does 100 catheterisations and 30 open heart surgeries per month, has done only 30 catheterisations and 20 open heart surgeries so far this year, Machado said. Several operating rooms are out of service and vital equipment is idle for lack of replacement parts.

Venezuela is perhaps the most resource-rich country in the world, but this is what its hospitals look like under socialism

Young doctors are leaving Venezuela in droves, seeking better opportunities elsewhere:

Venezuela is haemorrhaging doctors, especially young ones. Thousands of doctors are thought to have left the country, leaving the system short-staffed. By the time his medical students reach their fourth year, Castro said, 60% of the class will have emigrated.

Their devotion to the state is apparently insufficient.

The Lancet refers to Venezuelas political and economic crisis, but never mentions the key word, socialism. This is the point I want to make: neither Venezuelan reformers nor the Lancet seem to understand the role of socialism in the collapse of Venezuelas health care system, along with the rest of its economy:

Durn and others are calling for a health emergency to be declared in the country, which is wracked by a political and economic crisis. This would allow the import of medicines, while pharmaceutical plants, which have been idle for years, can begin producing again. International organisations, however, say they cannot act without the governments approval. So far, the regime of president Nicols Maduro has been silent.

Health shouldnt be politicised, Durn said. Health has nothing to do with ideology. Health is a right.

But in a socialist country, everything is politicized. Thats the point of socialismwhere everything is controlled by the government, everything is politicized.

Mr. Duran is correct in this respect: in Venezuela, health is a right, as provided by Article 83 of the Constitution:

Article 83: Health is a fundamental social right and the responsibility of the State, which shall guarantee it as part of the right to life.

A socialist government can guarantee health, but a socialist economy cant perform competently enough to supply hospitals with running water, let alone the tools needed for sophisticated medical care. The reality is, if you want your people to die miserably, you should socialize your health care system.

Pretty much everyone understands that socialism is a lousy way to produce cars, television sets, cell phones, and so on. Yet for some reason, there are lots of people who think health care should be socialized because it is fair. That is the position of pretty much the entire Democratic Party. If you think it is fair for children to die at birth or from malnutrition, diphtheria, malaria and the like, and for hospitals to shut down for lack of working equipment, then, yes, socialism is the system for you. (It isnt entirely fair, of course, because those who run the socialist system generally become billionaires while others starve.)

Venezuelas experience shows that socialism is just as disastrous for health care as it is for every other industry, regardless of what the government purports to guarantee. Why on Earth would any American want to copy the Venezuelan example by bringing socialism (single payer) to the United States health care system?

Continued here:
What Venezuela's Medical Crisis Tells Us About Socialism - Power Line (blog)

For the first time this election, some in the business community are starting to panic. The polls have tightened, and business folk who had been focusing on bashing the Tories for their interventionist and socialist-light policies are starting to fear that maybe, just maybe they may be about to be hit by the real thing.

Even though the Tories are still doing well, with levels of support last enjoyed in the early to mid-1980s, thats a lot less than was the case just two weeks ago. Labour, meanwhile has shot up and is now doing far better than Ed Miliband. As a result, the gap is much narrower and on one reading of the data the Tories could actually lose some seats. The Tories are still likely to win comfortably, but the polls have proved astonishingly volatile, and have swerved drastically after the Labour and Tory manifestos were released. The former went down relatively well among...

See the rest here:
Businesses should fear Corbyn's socialism - it would devastate the UK's competitiveness - Telegraph.co.uk

Autoweek

Haas F1 Team owner says Formula 1 'must not degenerate into ... Autoweek F1 must be careful as its new owner moves to shake up the income distribution model in the near future. That is the warning of Gene Haas, the American ... Gene Haas: 'We must not degenerate into socialism' - F1i.comF1i.com all 2 news articles »

View post:
Haas F1 Team owner says Formula 1 'must not degenerate into ... - Autoweek

Meghan McCain called it "ironic" that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has dedicated himself to promoting a socialist platform.

Zuckerberg is a "true genius" and "the Henry Ford of our time," McCain remarked on "Outnumbered."

The multi-billionaire pushed the idea of universal basic income "to make sure everyone has a cushion to try new ideas" during his commencement speech at Harvard University. Zuckerberg studied there for two years before leaving to expand Facebook.

A universal basic income policy would mean the government gives everyone a stipend to pay for basic necessities.

"Every generation expands its definition of equality," said Zuckerberg, whose net worth is estimated at more than $63,000,000,000.

McCain said that for the founder of the mammoth company to urge others not to follow in his footsteps to achieve success is counterproductive to his own story.

She added that the "normalizing of socialism" in America in the wake of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and former president Obama should scare everyone.

'These Were Not Unaccompanied Minors!': Pirro Sounds Off on Release of MS-13 Members

Huckabee: Obama Is Like the 'Captain of the Titanic Praising the Orchestra'

Pro-Life Group Denounces School's Decision to Ban Pregnant Teen From Graduation Ceremony

Go here to read the rest:
Meghan McCain Calls Out Irony of Facebook CEO Promoting Socialism - Fox News Insider

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, has made his money his billions of dollars in a short span of time and now? Now, he wants yours.

Hes after a global tax to give every man, woman and child a certain amount of money for the simple reason of being born.

In a message to Harvard graduates, Zuckerberg first acknowledged how the free market helped him. Then he turned and bit the free market hand that fed.

Lets face it, he said, referencing the time he attended Harvard himself, Wired reported. There is something wrong with our system when I can leave here and make billions of dollars in 10 years while millions of students cant afford to pay off their loans, let alone start a business.

No, actually, theres not. Thats called success thats called an example of Americas great capitalistic system at work.

That could even be called realizing a God-given talent.

But now that Zuckerbergs got his, he wants to take yours under guise of helping. Liberals and their helping. Why does it always lead down the path of socialism?

Zuckerberg, in his gosh-darned earnest, gosh-darned wealthy way, now wants the rising generation to go forth and work for the global good and as part of that higher purpose, to jump on base with what he called a universal basic income notion.

We should have a society that measures progress not just by economic metrics like GDP, but by how many of us have a role we find meaningful, Zuckerberg said, Boston.com reported. We should explore ideas like universal basic income to give everyone a cushion to try new things.

That means the government by taxes provides each and every citizen in the world a basic level of money, no work required. The moneys freely given by taxes to all those who are alive, just for the simple fact theyre alive.

Isnt that great. One of the worlds wealthiest taking a little time-out to come down to the regular folk level and preach global taxation as a means of eradicating poverty. Does that seem a bit condescending to anyone else?

But liberals-slash-socialists, especially the uber-wealthy ones, like George Soros, are always trying to mask their controlling ways in a do-good cloak. They pretend to want to help the little guy in the least painful way possible to themselves.

If Zuckerberg wants to end world poverty, if he wants to help some of the poorest in the world achieve the financial success hes seen or at least take a step or two in the direction of self-reliance and independence he can certainly reach in his own pocket and start the disbursement line.

But for Zuckerberg, and people like him who want the kudos that goes with philanthropy but not the self-sacrifices that typically mark true charity that mark the heart of a genuine helper theres always government. Zuckerberg calling for a universal basic income is a global tax and redistribution scheme. And that means control and power for the few at the expense and salaries of the many.

Read this article:
Mark Zuckerberg's radical, socialist global tax idea - Washington Times